The Best Time to Visit Goa, Month by Month: Weather, Season Dates, Prices and the February We Found

The best time to visit Goa for most trips is November to February: dry days, an open sea, and the shacks, markets and water sports all running. The best month of the four is February. The catch is New Year: 31 December, the one peak night we priced, cost about three times a late-October night at both hotels we stayed at. February gives you the same weather for far less: on our sampling, a mid-February stay cost less than late October at Calangute Residency and about a third more at Palolem Casa.

We went in February 2026, six days and five nights split between Calangute and Palolem, and Vandana would pick February again. The other eleven months on this page come from research: the 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Panaji, the government's own season dates, our room-price sampling and the Goa papers.

The best time to visit Goa: its seasons and the official dates that make them

Goa has three seasons that matter to a visitor: the dry season from November to March, a hot and humid shoulder in April and May, and the monsoon from early June to mid-October, with October itself a shoulder while the rain clears. The best season to visit Goa is the dry one, and the best season for Goa's sea is the same, since swimming is prohibited in the monsoon. Ask about the Goa season time and you'll get several answers, because the government doesn't have one "tourist season" date. Each authority sets its own, so we've listed them separately, each with the body that sets it.

Goa is a small Indian state on the Arabian Sea, with three districts since 31 December 2025: North Goa, South Goa and Kushavati. Palolem and Agonda are in Canacona, in Kushavati district; on this page, as in everyday speech, "South Goa" still means the southern beaches.

The shack dates are the ones people get wrong most often. The policy reprinted in the Official Gazette of 24 September 2026 defines the tourist season as 1 September to 31 May and the off season as 1 June to 31 August; shacks must stop operating by 31 May and their structures must be taken down by 10 June every year, and the Tourism Department can withdraw permission earlier in bad weather. So 10 June is a removal deadline, not a longer season.

Some reports still say the season "officially begins on 1 October", and in practice it began in September in 2025-26: the owners' society said shacks opened that month "for the first time in recent years", and The Goan found them operating when the first charter landed at Mopa on 2 October 2025. For 2026-27 the department was set to begin issuing licences on 10 September 2026, and the reports we read conflict on how many shacks were up by early October; where Palolem's and Agonda's shacks stand is on our South Goa page.

The best time to visit Dudhsagar, and when water sports run

Dudhsagar's jeep circuit is open in the dry season and shuts for the monsoon. For 2026-27 the jeeps started on 4 October 2026 under a Forest Department order, as the Times of India reported: the gate at Collem is open from 8 am to 3 pm, and the jeeps are called off on orange or red rain alerts. The closing date is set each year: 11 June in 2023, and in 2024 a 1 June closure was revised to let visits run until the monsoon set in, on the Wildlife Warden's call; we found no closing notice for 2025 or 2026. The trek, the jeeps and the booking are on our South Goa page.

Water sports in the sea stop for the monsoon: Drishti's 2026 advisory prohibited coastal water sports along with swimming. Inland waters have their own calendar since August 2026, when the Captain of Ports notified zones with fair weather from 1 October to 21 May and foul weather from 22 May to 30 September, after the High Court suspended inland water sports because the zones had never been notified. As of 19 October 2026 we found no announced date for sea water sports to resume. What the rides cost at Candolim is on our North Goa page.

When the monsoon arrives and leaves

The monsoon reaches Goa in early June and normally withdraws from Goa on 14 October. It came on 25 May in 2025, the earliest on record, and covered the whole state by 6 June in 2026. The Goa papers quote IMD's normal onset date as 1 June in one report and 5 June in another, which is why we say "early June".

The withdrawal has two dates each year, and they aren't the same thing: when the monsoon leaves Goa, and when IMD declares it gone from the whole country. In 2026 IMD said on 8 October that it had withdrawn from some parts of Goa, with the withdrawal line running through Panaji. The line stayed there in IMD's releases up to 11 October and had moved south of Goa, to Honavar in Karnataka, in its 12 October release. IMD declared it gone from the entire country on 15 October 2026. In 2025 IMD Goa said the monsoon had withdrawn from Goa on 13 October, with 14 October the official date, and the all-India withdrawal came on 16 October. In 2024 the all-India date was 15 October; we found no IMD date for Goa alone that year.

Goa weather by month: the climate normals

By the 1991 to 2020 normals for Panaji, Goa is 32 to 34°C by day from October to May and 29 to 31°C in the monsoon, and changes most in its nights and its rain: about 20°C at night in January against 26°C in May, and almost no rain from December to April against 955 mm in July. These are the World Meteorological Organization's standard normals for the Panjim station (Panjim is the older name for Panaji), supplied by IMD; a normal is a 30-year average, not a forecast, and a "rainy day" here is a day with 2.5 mm of rain or more.

What the averages hide is the humidity, which is why a 33°C day in May feels nothing like one in January. The same WMO sheet puts Panaji's mean humidity at 83 to 90 per cent from June to September and 78 per cent across the year, and in April and May the papers report "feels-like" figures above 42°C. The hottest day on Panaji's record is 39.8°C, in April; the coldest night, 13.3°C, in February. Those are records, not normal days. One tour operator's page says day temperatures "often" reach 40°C and puts winter at 15°C to 32°C; the normals bear out neither.

Cyclones are the other risk, in May and June and again in October and November. Tauktae cancelled every flight to and from Goa on 16 May 2021, Biparjoy closed the beaches to swimming in June 2023, and Kyarr brought a red alert in October 2019. They're rare, but if your dates fall in those windows, watch IMD's bulletins in the week before.

Sunrise and sunset by month

Goa's days run from about 11.2 hours in December to 13 hours in June, and the sun sets between about 6 pm and 7.10 pm all year. These are our own calculation for Panaji on the 15th of each month, with the NOAA solar equations; Palolem is within two minutes.

Goa month by month

Month by month, Goa is at its best from mid-November to February, still good in March, hot in April and May, wet from June to September, and opening up again in October. Each month below starts with its weather, then what's open, what it costs and who it suits.

Goa in October: the weather and what's open

The weather in Goa in October is hot, humid and drying out: 32.0°C by day and 24.0°C at night on Panaji's normals, with 156 mm of rain on about 7 rainy days. The monsoon's normal withdrawal from Goa is 14 October, so the first half can still be wet.

October is when the season switches back on, not all at once. Dudhsagar's jeeps opened on 4 October 2026, the first Russian charter of the season was reported to have landed around 30 September, Aeroflot's Moscow flights to Dabolim were filed from 3 October, and the shack season had already begun on 1 September. The Anjuna market traditionally opens at the end of October, and when we checked we found no 2026-27 date for it, or for sea water sports to resume.

Late October isn't the cheapest dry-weather time on our sampling. At Calangute Residency, mid-February and mid-March stays were 16 per cent cheaper; at Palolem Casa, late October was cheaper than any month from November to March (prices by month). Long weekends fill North Goa's roads: over the one at the start of October 2026 the Times of India found the NH-66 gridlocked around the Porvorim works. Good for: anyone who wants the green after the rains and doesn't mind a shower; not for a sea-swimming holiday in the first half.

Goa in November: the weather and what's open

The weather in Goa in November is dry and warm, 33.5°C by day and 22.7°C at night, with 21 mm of rain on one or two days in the month. By mid-November the season is fully open: the UK charters started on 5 and 6 November last season, and the Anjuna market usually opens by then.

IFFI, the International Film Festival of India, is in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2026, and the state calendar lists Tripurari Poornima at Sanquelim in November 2026, tentative. For a first-timer, mid-November to mid-December is the window where the season is open and prices are still short of the New Year peak, though not of late October's: on our sampling, budget doubles on 15 December were about 14 per cent dearer than late October in Calangute and 28 per cent in Palolem.

Goa in December: the weather, the peak and what to book

The weather in Goa in December is the year's best on paper, 33.1°C by day, 20.9°C at night and 2.5 mm of rain in the month, and Christmas to New Year is the Goa peak season: 31 December was by far the dearest night we priced. As listed on 14 October 2026, the night of 31 December 2026 cost Rs 18,533 at Calangute Residency against Rs 6,365 on 28 October, 2.91 times (the 31 December room was the last on sale, non-refundable), and Rs 15,299 at Palolem Casa against Rs 4,759, 3.21 times, taxes in. GTDC, which runs Calangute Residency, charges 100 per cent for cancelling bookings from 23 December to 1 January; we priced no other night of that week. Budget doubles were 2.86 times (Calangute) and 2.66 times (Palolem) on the same pair of nights, by the mean of the 12 cheapest before tax.

The first half of December in Goa is a different month. Calangute Residency was 1.9 per cent cheaper on 15 December than on 28 October, though Palolem Casa was 27.1 per cent dearer (both read on 14 October 2026).

Flights spike around Christmas and whenever something goes wrong: during IndiGo's disruption on 6 and 7 December 2025, Delhi to Goa fares reached Rs 18,343 to nearly Rs 39,000 one way. Christmas 2025 itself was quieter than the peak story, though: on 24 December 2025 TTAG's Jack Sukhija said there was footfall, "but not the kind we are used to", and The Goan reported lower fares and hotel rates and none of the usual 31 December waiting lists. New Year's Eve was still packed, with about 3,500 police on duty.

Three December facts to plan around. Sunburn isn't in Goa: its 2026 edition is at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai on 18 and 19 December, the second year running in Mumbai. The Feast of St Francis Xavier is on 3 December at Old Goa, after a nine-day novena. And outdoor music in Goa must stop at 10 pm except on the days the government notifies each year; we couldn't find the 2026-27 list. Christmas, New Year parties and day-by-day December prices will be on our page about Goa in December.

Goa in January: the weather and the crowds

The weather in Goa in January is dry with the coolest nights of the year, 32.5°C by day and 20.0°C at night, and 1 mm of rain in the month. Goa in winter is busy: 10.56 lakh visitors in January 2025 (1.056 million), the most of any month in that year's first half, including about 70,000 from abroad. On our sampling, a mid-January stay cost about the same as late October at Calangute Residency and about 35 per cent more at Palolem Casa. The state calendar lists a food and cultural festival in Margao in January 2027, tentative. I'd pick its second half for a trip with older parents, and Vandana would choose January for small children if their school holiday falls in it.

Goa in February: the weather, the Carnival and our month

The weather in Goa in February is the driest of the year, 0.1 mm of rain on the normals, with 32.4°C by day and 20.6°C at night. Visitor numbers are a notch below January (9.05 lakh in February 2025) and the sea, shacks and markets are all running. February 2027 room prices we read in October 2026 were either side of late October's Rs 6,365 at Calangute Residency: its sea-view room was Rs 5,888 on the Tuesdays and up to Rs 6,847 on the Saturdays, taxes in. Palolem Casa, on our month sampling, was about a third dearer in mid-February than in late October. The Goa Carnival falls in February in most years; the 2027 dates weren't announced as of October 2026, and our Goa Carnival page tracks them. Shiv Jayanti is listed for 19 February 2027, tentative.

One unknown hangs over February and March 2027: Goa's Assembly election. The current term ends in March 2027, the travel trade's TTAG asked for polling "preferably by the end of February 2027", and no schedule had been announced as of 17 October 2026; an election's code of conduct cut the 2022 Carnival to four towns. It's the month we went: see February as we found it.

Goa in March: the weather and Shigmo

The weather in Goa in March is still dry, 32.6°C by day, but the nights are warmer at 23.3°C and the humidity starts to climb. Shigmo, Goa's spring festival with its own float parades, ran from 5 to 18 March in 2026 across 14 dates, and the state calendar lists March 2027, tentative; it'll have its own page on Shigmo. Foreign visitors were still about 56,000 in March 2025. With the season open and the crowds thinning, March suits couples and anyone who doesn't mind warmer nights.

Goa in April: the weather and the heat

The weather in Goa in April is hot and humid, 33.4°C by day and 25.4°C at night on the normals, and it can feel far hotter. The Goan reported a "feels like" of 42.2°C on 17 April 2026, and Panaji's all-time high, 39.8°C, was an April day.

The foreigners have mostly gone home by now (about 28,000 in April 2025 against about 70,000 in January), and in April 2025 a shack owner told the Gomantak Times his shack hardly had a customer by day except at weekends, while a visitor said they hadn't expected Goa to be so hot. The state calendar lists a heritage festival at Saligao and the Spirit of Goa festival at Colva in April 2027, both tentative. Goa in summer, April and May, suits a beach trip planned around the morning and evening, with the middle of the day indoors.

Goa in May: the weather, the summer holidays and the season's end

The weather in Goa in May is the hottest of the year by the normals, 33.8°C by day and 26.3°C at night, with the first pre-monsoon rain (77 mm on about 4 days). In mid-May 2026 the heat index ran at 41 to 45°C, though up to 13 May IMD had issued no formal weather warning for Goa. May is also India's school-holiday month, and arrivals rise: 9.27 lakh in May 2025 and 9,69,090 in May 2026.

The season winds down in the last ten days: the inland water-sports zones' foul-weather window, as notified in August 2026, starts on 22 May, shacks must stop by 31 May, and on the last Sunday before the 2026 monsoon, 24 May, Calangute and Baga were packed while lifeguards told people not to swim. In 2025 a storm on 21 May ended the season early. If May is your only window, go in the first half.

Goa in the monsoon, June to September: the weather and what's shut

The weather in Goa from June to September is the monsoon: 890 mm in June, 955 mm in July, 572 mm in August and 304 mm in September at Panaji, on about 14 to 27 rainy days a month, with days of 29 to 31°C. The rains run from early June to mid-October; these four months are their wet core, and October is the drying shoulder. The sea is closed to swimmers. Drishti's 2026 advisory said swimming in the sea, coastal water sports and fishing are prohibited in the monsoon season, with red flags along the beaches and more than 450 lifesavers posted at 54 beaches.

The shacks are gone, water sports move to sheltered inland waters if they run at all, the Anjuna market is shut, and Dudhsagar's jeeps stop; in 2026 an order of 29 June in South Goa and Kushavati districts banned swimming in waterfalls, rivers, quarries and lakes for 60 days.

The Goa off season doesn't mean Goa closes, though. Visitors still came, 6.94 lakh in July 2026, and the beaches stay open to walk on. Old Goa's churches, Panaji and the hotels don't close for the season. In 2023 a Colva taxi driver put monsoon visitors at "hardly 20 per cent" of the usual, and a visitor from Ambala liked the empty beach. The Konkan Railway runs a slower monsoon timetable from 15 June to 20 October. On our sampling of 19 October 2026, Palolem Casa's double was Rs 5,690 for two nights with tax from the 15th of June, July, August and September, one flat rate about a third below late October; Calangute Residency had no room on sale for any of those dates on the site we priced it on, which may or may not mean it closes. Sellers claim 30 to 60 per cent off across Goa; beyond our two hotels we found no measured figure. Things to do in the rain will be on our page about Goa in the monsoon.

Our own view, since we haven't been in the monsoon: I'd go with a flexible plan, so that if rain cancels an outing we do something else that day, and I wouldn't book the trip around water sports. Vandana would enjoy sitting in a good room watching the rain, a slow breakfast and the greenery, but she wouldn't pick a hotel just because it's cheap; in the monsoon you spend more time in the room, so the stay has to be good, she says.

What Goa costs by month: rooms, flights and getting around

Room prices in Goa depend on the hotel as much as the month: on our sampling, Calangute Residency stayed at or up to 16 per cent below its late-October price from November to May, Palolem Casa ran a third or more above it from December to February and fell to about two thirds of it in the monsoon, and 31 December cost about three times late October at both. Every price below is what Booking.com or MakeMyTrip showed, taxes in, on the date we read it; we didn't book them. "Normal" here means the nights outside the peak that we've sampled so far, and every multiple names the two nights it compares.

The multiples, each with the pair of nights it compares, are under December.

Rooms up to Rs 7,500 a night carry 5 per cent GST and dearer rooms 18 per cent, since 22 September 2025, which is part of why peak nights jump as far as they do.

Room prices month by month: our sampling

On our sampling of 19 October 2026, two nights at Palolem Casa cost most from mid-December, about 1.4 times late October, and least from June to September, about two thirds of it; Calangute Residency moved far less, and had no room on sale for June to September. We priced the same room at each hotel for two adults, two nights from the 15th of each month, November 2026 to September 2027, all on the same day, against the same stay from 28 October 2026. The index is each month's total with tax divided by late October's.

How each was priced. Palolem Casa on Booking.com: the "Double Room with Private Bathroom", the only room it offered on every date, breakfast not included (Rs 400 extra), at the price Booking.com charged for paying online, 12 per cent below its list price on every date, plus the 5 per cent tax it showed. Calangute Residency, run by GTDC, the state's tourism corporation, on MakeMyTrip, which sells its rooms online: the "Side View Deluxe AC Room", breakfast included, free cancellation until about a week before each stay, plus the taxes and fees shown. The sea-view room in the table above wasn't offered for 15 November, so it couldn't be the fixed room for the year.

Read it with three limits. Palolem Casa's June to September figure is one flat rate, the same Rs 6,118 list price for all four months, so it's the guest house's off-season card, not a measured monsoon curve. Calangute Residency's page showed "not available" for the 15th and the 16th of June, July, August and September; we don't know whether it closes or simply wasn't on sale there. And we priced the 15th only, so Diwali, school holidays and Easter aren't in it; Christmas week is below. A second Calangute hotel we priced the same way, Resort Terra Paraiso, ran about a fifth to a quarter above its late-October price from November to February, so Calangute Residency's flat year is that hotel's, not all of Calangute's. The sites' prices also moved between our checks of 14 and 19 October, so these figures don't match the table above to the rupee; read each column against its own late October.

Christmas to New Year, priced the same way on 19 October 2026: two nights at Palolem Casa cost Rs 21,379 from 24 December, 2.54 times late October, and Rs 27,485 from 28, 30 or 31 December, 3.26 times. Booking.com added 18 per cent tax on these dates, against 5 per cent on the others, and showed “We have 3 left” for 24 December. At Calangute Residency the side-view room showed “not available” on MakeMyTrip for all four stays; from 30 December the only room on sale was the sea-view room, non-refundable, at Rs 17,996 a night with tax, 2.42 times its own late-October price.

What we paid ourselves, in February 2026: Rs 8,598 for two nights at Palolem Casa and Rs 10,200 for three nights in the sea-view room we stayed in at Calangute Residency, about Rs 3,400 a night. That was February 2026; the prices above are what the listings showed in October 2026 for later dates. Our return flights, Delhi to Mopa and Dabolim back to Delhi, cost about Rs 21,000 for the two of us, by my memory of the fare rather than a ticket.

Flights have no published month-by-month fare, so all we can give are dated snapshots. Over the Independence Day weekend, on 14 August 2026, The Goan reported Delhi to Goa at about Rs 7,639 one way, Mumbai at about Rs 6,900 to 7,100 and Bengaluru at Rs 7,154 to over 8,000. During the IndiGo disruption of December 2025, Hyderabad to Goa reached Rs 21,200 on 7 December against Rs 3,000 to 7,000 on other December dates. Long weekends, Christmas week and disruption are the spikes; book early for those and compare both airports, Mopa in the north and Dabolim in the south.

Getting around changes less. Goa's taxi fares are notified by the state with no seasonal rate, only a 35 per cent night surcharge from 11 pm to 5 am. Scooters cost Rs 200 to 400 a day by Goa Tourism's own page (read 14 October 2026), we paid Rs 500 a day in February 2026, and an undated Gomantak Times guide says rentals rise by Rs 100 to 300 a day in the peak season; more on renting a scooter in Goa.

How crowded Goa is, month by month

Goa is busy for more of the year than its "season" suggests: in 2025, every month from January to June brought between 8.34 lakh and 10.56 lakh visitors, and by our arithmetic on the department's totals, October to December averaged about as many a month as January. What changes most is who comes. Foreign visitors peak in winter and fall away by summer, from about 70,000 in January 2025 to about 25,000 in June, while Indian visitors hold up through the school holidays in May.

Goa had 1,08,02,410 visitors in all of 2025 (10.8 million), 5,17,802 of them from abroad, by the department's final figures. From those totals we worked out the rest of the year: about 7.3 lakh a month from July to September and about 10.6 lakh a month from October to December, as busy as January. That's our arithmetic on rounded figures, so read it as a shape, not a count. The crowd you feel also depends on where you stay: in February 2026 we found Calangute crowded, and Agonda more open than Palolem.

Goa's events calendar for 2026-27

Goa's events for 2026-27 are mostly state festivals on dates the government still marks tentative, plus a few fixed ones: IFFI from 20 to 28 November 2026 and the Feast of St Francis Xavier on 3 December. The rows marked tentative come from the Department of Tourism's "Calendar of Events for 2026-2027"; check them again in the month itself.

Which month for whom: couples, families, friends and parents

For most kinds of trip the best time to go to Goa is somewhere between November and February; what changes is which part of it. The month picks below are ours where we say so, from our trip and the questions we answered for this page in October 2026; the reasons are from the research above.

With older parents: the second half of January. That's my pick, and the research backs it: the coolest nights of the year, no rain, and clear of New Year week. I'd take a cab, see one or two places a day at an easy pace, and not change hotels again and again. Vandana would look for a hotel with few stairs, a comfortable bathroom and food close by, and plan the day around their comfort: out in the morning, rest in the afternoon, the beach in the evening. Avoid April and May, when the nights stay warm and the humidity is high.

With small children: January, matched to their school holidays. That's Vandana's choice, and she'd plan their meals, sleep and playtime first; not every day needs sightseeing, she says. In the season the main beaches have lifeguards and flags, as we saw at Agonda; in the monsoon the sea is closed. India's own summer holidays fall in May, the hottest month and the end of the season, so if May is your only window, go early in it.

With friends: February. My pick, with one piece of advice: agree what everyone wants before you book, and leave time for sightseeing, activities and rest. For a party trip, December has the most going on but also the highest prices and the 10 pm music rule outside the notified days, and Sunburn has moved to Mumbai.

As a couple: February. We went in February, and Vandana would choose it again for a relaxed trip of the two of us. Late January and March work too, and our page on a Goa honeymoon will go further. Over New Year, she'd keep the evening's plans close to the hotel, so there's no worry about getting back from far away late at night.

On your own, or a woman on your own. The season months are when the beaches, lanes and shacks are busy after dark; in the monsoon some beaches are nearly empty. Vandana's advice from our trip holds in any month: decide before you go out at night how you'll get back, and don't stay late on a deserted beach. Our page on safety in Goa will go further.

Vegetarian or Jain. We're both vegetarian, and the season changes little for you: the 61-day fishing ban from 1 June affects seafood menus, not yours, but the shacks are gone from June to August, so in the monsoon you'll eat at restaurants and hotels. Vandana checked for vegetarian food near each hotel before we booked.

December and New Year. I'd go in the first half of December, before the peak. To celebrate New Year in Goa, I'd work out the whole cost first, room, flights and getting around, because the room alone was about three times a late-October night when we priced 31 December.

Whether the North or the South suits your month better is on our page comparing North Goa and South Goa.

February as we found it

We were in Goa from 16 to 21 February 2026, three nights at Calangute Residency in the North and two at Palolem Casa in the South, and it was our first Goa trip together. We picked February because we wanted both beaches and sightseeing, and kept away from the Christmas and New Year dates. When we saw the Carnival schedule online, we added Mapusa's parade on 17 February to the plan. For our own trip we booked the flights about six weeks ahead and settled the hotels about a month ahead; Vandana checked how far each was from the beach, the room, the bathroom and the vegetarian food nearby, and didn't decide on photos alone.

In the North I found the midday sun strong, especially walking round the fort and the market, and the mornings and the time around sunset better for the beach. Calangute was crowded, and we liked Candolim and Vagator more for time at ease. Vandana would choose February again, with lighter afternoons: the evenings on the beach were good, and there's no need to be out in the sun all day, she says. Next time she'd keep time for lunch and rest in the afternoons.

Swipe sideways for both photos

In the South I found the same sun at midday, and the same better mornings and evenings. Palolem had people; Agonda had more open space. Vandana liked walking at the water's edge more than swimming, and neither of us swam properly. We waded at the edge. At Agonda there were lifeguards and flags on the beach, and on the walk we passed a protected turtle nesting enclosure, no turtles in it. She'd go back in February and give the South more time, and next time keep one day completely free, with nowhere to be.

Swipe sideways for both photos

No big seasonal closure cancelled anything on our plan: we did the beaches, the market and the sightseeing we'd planned. The one thing Vandana says to check beforehand is the market's day and each place's timings. At Old Goa we walked around the churches outside and took photos, and didn't go in. The days themselves are on our North Goa and South Goa pages and the Carnival evening on our Carnival page; how to split six days is on our Goa itinerary page.

Swipe sideways for both photos

What to pack for Goa, by season

For the dry season, pack light clothes, a hat and sunscreen in a small day bag, and shoes you can walk in; for the monsoon, add rain gear and footwear with grip. What worked for us in February: Vandana's comfortable sandals, light clothes and a light shrug. The rest is our list for next time. Vandana would add walking shoes, since the fort climbs and the market need more than sandals, and keep a hat and sunscreen in a small bag so they go out with you; I'd carry a water bottle, sunglasses, a power bank and a phone pouch. If you plan to go inside the churches, carry clothes that cover shoulders and knees. We paid mostly by UPI and kept some cash for small payments.

April and May need the same, with more water and the middle of the day kept indoors. For the monsoon, from the research rather than a trip of ours: a light rain jacket or umbrella, quick-drying clothes, footwear with a grip for wet paths and forts, and something to keep a phone dry. October's first half and late May can bring sudden showers, so carry a light layer for those too. Our packing lists for each half, place by place, are on the North Goa and South Goa pages.

What a Goa trip costs by season: solo, with a partner or with family

For four nights outside the peak, plan for about Rs 6,000 to 12,000 on your own on a budget, Rs 13,500 to 24,000 for two on a budget or Rs 33,000 to 44,000 for two at a mid-range hotel like ours, and Rs 27,000 to 48,000 for a family of four on a budget. That's about $65 to 125, about $140 to 250, about $350 to 460 and about $280 to 500. The base is Calangute (a hostel bed in Anjuna or Vagator for the solo trip), and none of it includes flights or trains to Goa. The same trips priced at 31 December 2026 rates come to about Rs 11,000 to 17,500, Rs 83,000 to 91,000 and Rs 43,000 to 78,000.

These are planning ranges from the cheaper end of what's on offer, not a typical bill.

Each total adds up the dated ranges listed below, the same ones the calculator uses, for four nights and three days out, with three vegetarian meals a day and two North Goa tickets, Fort Aguada's upper fort and the Aguad jail complex. Children are counted at the adult price for food and tickets. Based in Palolem instead, two people at Palolem Casa come to about Rs 30,000 to 44,000 outside the peak and Rs 72,000 to 82,000 at 31 December rates, on our South Goa budget. Two people from abroad pay about Rs 34,000 to 45,000 for the Calangute trip, the difference being the foreigners' tickets.

Work out your own trip, for your month

Pick "normal" for November to May outside Christmas week, and "peak" for Christmas to New Year. There's no monsoon setting: the normal rates would overstate a June to September stay at Palolem Casa, and Calangute Residency wasn't on sale then. Then change who's going, the nights, the stay and the tickets, and the total moves with you. Without JavaScript the table above carries the same figures.

Best time to visit Goa: FAQ

Nav & Vandana Sharma

I'm Nav, and with my wife Vandana I run WCTO from Greater Noida. I've been travelling across India since 2015 and do the routes, costs and logistics; Vandana joined the road in 2020 and writes the stays, food, comfort and safety.

This page draws on our February 2026 Goa trip, 16 to 21 February, and our answers to questions about other months, given in October 2026. We haven't been to Goa in any other month: the weather, the season dates, the prices and the crowds are from our research in October 2026, attributed in the text and listed under Sources. Neither of our Goa stays was discounted.

Corrections: [email protected]. Tell us the page and what is wrong, and we'll fix it and date the change in the log below.